The only imaginative prose writer of the slightest value who has appeared among the English-speaking races for some years past.
George OrwellRead
Without a knowledge of mythology much of the elegant literature of our own language cannot be understood and appreciated.
Interpretation
Understanding mythology is essential to fully appreciate the depth of literature.
Thomas Bulfinch highlights the importance of mythology in understanding and appreciating literature. He suggests that a significant portion of our elegant language and literary works is rooted in mythological references, and without that knowledge, readers may miss out on rich layers of meaning and insight within the texts.
In practice
In a lecture about literary analysis, this quote could be used to emphasize the importance of understanding mythological references.
The only imaginative prose writer of the slightest value who has appeared among the English-speaking races for some years past.
I can think of no other writer who so thoroughly embodies the Jamesian spirit as Alison Lurie. Like him she can excavate all the possibilities of a theme. Like his, her books seem long, unbroken threads, seamless progressions of effects.
I wrote The Grapes of Wrath in one hundred days, but many years of preparation preceded it.
Every novel is an equal collaboration between the writer and the reader and it is the only place in the world where two strangers can meet on terms of absolute intimacy.
If the book is a mystery to its author as she's writing, inevitably it's going to be a mystery to the reader as he or she reads it.
One cannot be too careful in the selection of adjectives for descriptions. Words or compounds which describe precisely, and which convey exactly the right suggestions to the mind of the reader, are essential.
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